The Seduction of Scandal by Cathy Maxwell

Romance full of intrigue and deception
4 stars

Daughter of a duke, Lady Corinne, refuses to marry Lord Freddie Sherwin. He may be the catch of the season but he’s also a pig and Corinne only wants to marry a man she can love. So rather than face a life of misery she runs away. Only to find herself in the arms of notorious highwayman, Thorn.

Thorn is involved in a dangerous game – his identity is a mystery, his life a secret. Until Lady Corinne tumbles into his arms and turns his world upside down. If he wants her silence he must hide her until after her wedding day passes. But when passion flares it might be the most dangerous thing either has faced before or perhaps the start of a lifetime of adventure.


This is the fifth book in Maxwell’s Scandals and Seductions series after A Seduction at Christmas, The Earl Claims His Wife, The Marriage Ring and His Christmas Pleasure. Corinne briefly featured in the last book but apart from that the books stand very much alone and in this one at least, there are no appearances by the main characters from previous books.

From start to finish I really loved this book. It is full of intrigue and romance all the while maintaining the lightness that put me in mind of The Scarlet Pimpernel. However, the real highlight of the book for me had to be Thorn. When we first are introduced to him I was intrigued as to how he would fare as a romantic lead but he turns out to be a brooding, tortured and lonely man who desperately needs the love of a good woman. I liked Corinne too and together the pair had good chemistry. The writing was sharp and this is the kind of story you’re desperate to pick up again if you can manage to put it down in the first place.

My one negative about the book was the sheer number of typos. It drove me mad to see duplicated words, spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes on top of the smattering of Americanisms dotted throughout the book. I realise that this isn’t necessarily the fault of the author so it’s a shame that it affected my feelings about a book whose characters and storyline I otherwise very much enjoyed.

Having said that, if you like regency romances that you can get lost in and really root for the characters then I would very much recommend this book to you despite its faults. 4 stars.

His Christmas Pleasure by Cathy Maxwell

An entertaining, readable romance

4 stars

Abigail Montross has been waiting for the man of her dreams to propose for what seems like forever. But when he finally does propose – it’s to her cousin! But things keep getting worse for her as her father threatens to marry her off to a man twice her age with 13 children.

Baron de Vasconia, Andres Ramigio is in desperate need of money. Knowing of Abby’s dilemma, the pair hatch a plan to elope so she gets his protection and he gets her money. But the pair soon begin to realise that once they reveal each other’s secrets, there is nothing that can stop them from falling in love.

Despite the title, this book isn’t Christmassy at all despite the conclusion taking place on Christmas Day. As much as I like Christmas romances, I didn’t feel that the book tried to be a festive romance so I didn’t feel let down but the lack of Christmas content.

Both Andres and Abby are likeable characters and have a good chemistry together. I liked the way that Abby especially grew into a more confident woman and how the pair shared their dreams together and how they easily fell in love.

There were one or two jarring Americanisms which I am inclined to overlook simply because it’s rare to find a book that doesn’t have at least one. That said, it’s still very annoying in any book.

This book stands alone but the characters have been featured in previous books by Cathy Maxwell. Despite having read those romances, I couldn’t quite remember the back stories of the characters but it really made no difference to my enjoyment of this particular story.

Overall, this was a nice story to pass the time. It’s well written, enjoyable and the story really kept the pages turning. 4 stars.

Four Dukes and a Devil

Slightly lacklustre romance anthology

3 Stars

THE IRISH DUKE by Cathy Maxwell

Pretty Susan Rogers is a 26 year old spinster who helps the young ladies of the ton find suitable husbands – so long as they are not Irish Dukes. So who should appear at the beginning of the season to find a wife but an Irish Duke, Roan Gillray, who seems to have set his sights on Susan herself.

This was a sweet story but lacked believability due to the short length. It was still an enjoyable, well-written story that will make you smile.

THE DUKE WHO CAME TO DINNER by Elaine Fox

Gray Gilliam has come to sleepy Wellfleet, Massachusetts to spend a summer changing her life. But that’s before she goes skinny dipping, a dog called Duke steals her clothes and her hot neighbour, Sam Gregory, sees her stark naked!

This was a good, fun-loving story with good characters and a cute dog. I couldn’t really decide the purpose of the ghost in the story but apart from that I enjoyed it.

DEVIL TO PAY by Jeaniene Frost

Blake Turner has been possessed by an evil demon and the only way to get rid of it is to die. But now he’s met gorgeous vampire Elise, he suddenly realises he desperately wants to live.

I am really not into vampire/demon stories and this one didn’t change my mind. It was interesting with a good ending but it really wasn’t a romance story.

CATCH OF THE CENTURY by Sophia Nash

When John Varick, Duke of Beaufort nearly runs down Miss Victoria Givan in the middle of a country road, he has no idea that by offering her and her teenage charges a lift to their destination, he might be risking his bachelor status.

I enjoyed this story and the characters in it but towards the end the story started to brim with characters from previous Nash books. Having never read her before, I found this annoying and spoiled the story for me somewhat.

CHARMED BY HER SMILE by Tracy Anne Warren

Miss India Byron is being plagued by the unwanted attentions of a rather insipid suitor. So she enlists the help of Quentin Marlowe, Duke of Weybridge to pretend to pursue her in the hopes of deterring the love-struck lad. But is it really pretend after all?

I could have lived with the tried and true plot if it had a little magic but it was actually quite bland and boring. I also didn’t believe that it was anything more than infatuation and lust between the couple. Disappointing.

The good thing about this anthology is that it has a wide selection of very different types of story. Unfortunately, personally I didn’t find any of the stories particularly thrilling and although a few of them were fairly interesting, I don’t think I’ll be going out of my way to read any of the stories again in a hurry. 3 stars.

A Seduction at Christmas by Cathy Maxwell

Adventure filled romance

4 Stars

Down on her luck and desperate to earn some money, Fiona Lachlan finds herself agreeing to help with a plan that has ended with her luring the notorious Duke of Holburn, Nick Lynsted, into trouble. When the plan goes terribly wrong, Fiona and Nick soon find themselves on the run from a murderous gang of men.

In order to protect themselves and stay alive, Fiona finds herself posing as Nick’s ward. But with a missing family ring, old friends turned enemies, a disapproving family and someone intent on murder – there is little time for anything else. Except maybe seduction.

Despite being a book that easily stands alone, this book features Fiona Lachlan, the sister of the hero from Maxwell’s previous book, In The Highlander’s Bed.

From the start, the book was filled with excitement, action, adventure and lust. Fiona is a flawed but feisty character whose character suits the slightly intense yet rougishly loveable Nick. The pair have good chemistry and a love you can believe in, even if their own romance sometimes seemed to take a back seat to the action/mystery.

Overall, this book was an interesting read that definitely kept you turning the pages. I felt that it wasn’t as strong emotionally as many of Cathy Maxwell’s previous novels yet it was still an enjoyable read and one I would recommend. 4 stars.

In The Highlander's Bed by Cathy Maxwell

Fun and adventurous romance

4 stars

After failing in his mission to retrieve the legendary Sword of McKenna from the English, Highland warrior Gordon Lachlan decides to strike personally at those who hold the sword – by kidnapping Constance Cameron from her boarding school and demanding the sword from her relatives in return for her release.

Constance is fed up with being stuck away in a boarding school and decides to run away and make a life for herself in her American homeland. But before she can escape the school, she is kidnapped by a roguish, but very handsome, Scottish rebel.

Neither are what the other expected and as passions run high, the pair realise they may have to fight for something more precious than freedom.

This was the concluding book in a series about the Cameron Sisters of Ohio (after The Price of Indiscretion, In the Bed of A Duke and Bedding the Heiress) although it does set up another book after this one so I suppose the series is a continuous one. There is a plot line that flows throughout the books so I wouldn’t suggest you read this book without having read the others first.

Constance is fiery and independent without ever coming across as a stereotype while Gordon is a fantastically tortured hero – torn between his need for freedom and his desire for love. The pair were well matched and I liked the banter between them throughout the book. I am also a fan of this kind of plot line and so I enjoyed the romance between the pair too.

Despite enjoying the book, I did have a few problems with it that stopped it from getting the full 5 stars. Firstly, the underlying plot of the Scottish cause and the Sword of McKenna seemed to fade as the book went on and although the romance was satisfactorily ended, the ‘sword’ plot was not and I felt slightly disappointed that nothing came of the so called rebellion. Gordon was so passionate for his cause at the beginning and then gave up his fight without much thought at the end of the book. There were also factual errors that really irked after a while such as when they left Edinburgh and travelled east yet somehow managed to end up in the Highlands!

As I mentioned before, I did actually enjoy the book even with the faults. It was exciting, romantic, a real page-turner and very well written. I would recommend this book to fans of Cathy Maxwell and those who enjoy a fun romantic adventure. 4 stars.

Bedding the Heiress by Cathy Maxwell

Enjoyable addition to the series

4 stars

When a loathsome rake steals heiress Francesca Dunroy's most treasured possession she is determined to get it back. In return for the heirloom, she decides to offer the rake a kiss. But on the darkened terrace in the middle of a ball she makes a dreadful mistake - she seduces the wrong man!

Justin Maddox is London's newly titled duke and he's not enjoying himself at all with his new position. Although that all changes when the fiery Francesca kisses him with a passion that surprises them both.

With neither able to forget, or even stay away from each other - love soon starts to blossom. But what will happen when Justin's enemies decide that it's time for revenge?

This is the third book in an ongoing series (after The Price of Indiscretion and In the Bed of a Duke) which focuses loosely around the Cameron sisters. This book follows where the last left off and tells the story of Justin Maddox as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he is now an English duke and not the Scottish rebel he always thought he was. As it is part of a series, I really don't think that this book stands alone as there is too much back story that you need to know to understand this book.

Both Justin and Francesca are enjoyable, interesting characters and I liked the interplay between them and their honest interactions with each other. It was also nice to see some characters from previous books pop up in this one.

I guess my main issues were that this almost felt like a filler book. Francesca and Justin's story was central although there was so much anticipation of the next book and the underlying action/plot line that runs through all the books, that the romance almost took a back seat. And compared to previous books by Cathy Maxwell, this book lacked a lot of emotional oomph. And I found myself increasingly frustrated with various Americanisms that crept into the text and inaccuracies such as spelling Scotch whisky with an 'e'. This didn't affect my rating of the book but it was annoying none the less.

Having said all that - this book was still miles better than many others in the same genre. It was upbeat, interesting, a definite page-turner and if nothing else it has made me really look forward to the next book in the series. If you're a fan of Cathy Maxwell and are keeping up with this series then this is a book I would recommend.